Office Tel: +972-2-6777001
Paging operator: +972-2-6777111
Fax: +972-2-6448917
E-mail: chowers@md.huji.ac.il
Dr. Itay Chowers is a senior lecturer in ophthalmology and a faculty member at the Department of Ophthalmology of the Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center.
Dr. Chowers earned his MD at the Hebrew University School of Medicine in 1994. He subsequently did his ophthalmology residency at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center. Dr. Chowers then performed a three-year clinical and research retina fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD.
Dr. Chowers treats patients with retinal diseases, among them age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal blood vessel occlusions, retinal degenerations, retinal detachments, and other vitreoretinal diseases. Treatment modalities employed by Dr. Chowers include retinal photocoagulation (“hot laser”), photodynamic therapy (“cold laser”), vitreoretinal surgery, and cataract surgery. All treatments are preformed in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center. This state-of-the-art facility has at its dispense all advanced instrumentation and imaging techniques required for the care of patients with retinal diseases.
Dr. Chowers is also heading the molecular ophthalmology laboratory where research is conducted in an attempt to obtain insight into the pathogenesis of age related macular degeneration and uveal melanoma.
Education & Training
1990 - BA Medical Science, Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Medicine
1994 - MD, Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Medicine
1994-1995 - Internship, Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center
1995-2000 - Residency in Ophthalmology, Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center
2000-2002 - Research fellowship, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
2002-2003 - Clinical vitreoretinal fellowship, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Current Appointments
· Senior lecturer in ophthalmology, Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Medicine
· Faculty member, Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center
· Head, Molecular Ophthalmology Laboratory, Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center
Honors & Awards
1992 - Karl Bander research scholarship
1993 - Bernard Adler scholarship for cancer research
1999 - Israel Ophthalmology Society award for outstanding lectures
2000 - Israeli Society for Eye and Vision Research award for a young researcher
2000 - American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel
2002 - Israel Ophthalmological Society Advanced Training Award
2002 - Israel Medical Association Advanced Training Award
2003 - Krieger fellowship award for advanced training in vitreoretinal surgery
2004 - Hadassah investigator prize
2005 - Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) Clinical Research Career Development Award
Research Activities
§ Molecular ophthalmology laboratory- The lab focuses on research of the molecular mechanisms that underlie age related macular degeneration and uveal melanoma. The goal of the research is to identify genes involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases followed by design of novel therapies.
§ Clinical research- variety of clinical research projects focused on age related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are performed in Dr. Chowers’s clinic. The goal of the research is to gain better understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders, and to develop novel tools for early diagnosis of AMD.
Publications
1. Chowers, I., Frucht-Pery, J., Siganos, C.S., Solomon, A. and Pe'er, J.: Vinblastine toxicity to ocular surface. Anti-Cancer Drugs 7:805-808, 1996.
2. Zamir, E., Chowers, I., and Margalit, E.: Iris crystals in Fuchs’ heterochromic iridocyclitis. Archives of Ophthalmology 116:1394, 1998.
3. Chowers, I., Siganos, C.S., Solomon, A. and Frucht-Pery, J.: Deep stromal inflammation - a possible new ocular manifestation of Crohn’s disease. Ocular Immunology and Inflammation 6:59-62, 1998.
4. Chowers, I., Livni, N., Zajicek, G., Solomon, A., Frucht-Pery, J., Folberg, R., and Pe’er, J.: MIB-1 and PC-10 immunostaining for the assessment of proliferative activity in primary acquired melanosis without and with atypia. British Journal of Ophthalmology 82:1316-1319, 1998. (Reviewed in editorial).
5. Solomon A, Chowers I, Frucht-Pery J: Retained eyelashes in the anterior chamber following corneal perforation. Eye 12:1031-1033, 1998.
6. Chowers, I., Lerman-Sagie, T., Elpeleg, O., Shaag, A., and Merin, S.: Cone and rod dysfunction in the NARP syndrome. British Journal of Ophthalmology 83:190-193, 1999.
7. Chowers, I., Livni, N., Frucht-Pery, J. and Pe’er, J.: Immunostaining of the estrogen receptor in conjunctival primary acquired melanosis. Ophthalmic Research 31:210-212, 1999.
8. Chowers, I., Pe’er, J., Tochner, Z., Hemo, I. and Merin, S.: Radiation treatment of neovascularized membranes secondary to ARMD. Harefuah 136:877-880, 1999.
9. Zamir, E., Kaiserman, I., and Chowers, I.: Laser-pointer maculopathy. American Journal of Ophthalmology 127:728-729, 1999.
10. Chowers, I. and Ticho, U.: Mitomycin C in combined or two-stage procedure of trabeculectomy followed by penetrating keratoplasty. Journal of Glaucoma 8:184-187, 1999.
11. Zamir, E. and Chowers, I.: Central serous chorioretinopathy in a patient with cryoglobulinaemia. Eye 13:265-266, 1999.
12. Zamir, E., Chowers, I., Banin, E., and Frucht-Pery, J.: Neurotrophic corneal endothelial failure complicating acute Horner syndrome. Ophthalmology 106:1692-1696, 1999.
13. Zamir, E., Arnon, N., Banin, E., Chowers, I., and Pe’er, J.: Ectopic caruncle. Archives of Ophthalmology 117:1446-1447, 1999.
14. Halpert, M., Chowers, I., and Merin, S.: Diagnosis of retinal arterial macroaneurysm presenting as subhyaloid hemorrhage by ICG video-angiography. Annals of Ophthalmology 32:140-141, 2000.
15. Chowers, I., Zamir, E., Banin, E., and Merin, S.: Retinitis pigmentosa associated with Fuchs’ heterochromatic uveitis. Archives of Ophthalmology 118:800-802, 2000.
16. Chowers, I., Zamir, E., Banin, E., Abdulrazik, M., and Hemo, I.: Blunt trauma in Best’s vitelliform macular dystrophy. British Journal of Ophthalmology 84:1330-1331, 2000.
17. Chowers, I., Pe’er, J., Zamir, E., Ilsar, M., Livni, N., and Frucht-Pery, J.: Proliferative activity and p53 immunoreactivity in primary and recurrent pterygia. Ophthalmology 108:985-988, 2001.
18. Chowers, I., Anteby, I., Ever-Hadani, P., and Frucht-Pery, J.: Traumatic wound dehiscence after cataract surgery. Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery 27:1238-1242, 2001.
19. Chowers, I., Banin, E., Hemo, I., Porat, R., Falk, H., Pe’er, J., Keshet, E., and Panet, A.: Gene transfer by viral vectors into blood vessels in a rat model of retinopathy of prematurity. British Journal of Ophthalmology 85:991-995, 2001.
20. Chowers, I., Banin, E., Merin, S., Cooper, M., and Granot, E.: Long-term assessment of combined vitamin A and E treatment for the prevention of retinal degeneration in abetalipoproteinaemia and hypobetalipoproteinaemia patients. Eye 15:525-530, 2001.
21. Zamir, E. and Chowers, I.: Concerns about laser pointers and macular damage. Archives of Ophthalmology 119:1731-1732, 2001.
22. Pe’er, J., Stefani, F.H., Seregard, S., Kivela, T., Lommatzsch, P., Prause, J.U., Sobottka, B., Damato, B., and Chowers, I.: Cell proliferation activity in posterior uveal melanoma after Ru-106 brachytherapy – an EORTC Ocular Oncology Group study. British Journal of Ophthalmology 85:1208-1212, 2001.
23. Chowers, I., Folberg, R., Livni, N., and Pe’er, J.: Comparison of microcirculation patterns and MIB-1 immunoreactivity in iris and posterior uveal melanoma. Ophthalmology 108:367-371, 2001.
24. Kaiserman, I., Anteby, I., Chowers, I., Blumenthal, E.Z., Kliers, I., and Pe’er, J.: Changes in ultrasound findings in posterior uveal melanoma after Ruthenium 106 brachytherapy. Ophthalmology 109:1137-1141, 2002.
25. Chowers, I., Folberg, R., Livni, N., and Pe’er, J.: p-53 Immunoreactivity, Ki-67 expression, and microcirculation patterns in melanoma of the iris, ciliary body, and choroid. Current Eye Research 24:105-108, 2002.
26. Solomon, A., Chowers, I., Raiskup, F., Siganos, C.S., and Frucht-Pery, J.: Inadvertent conjunctival trauma related to contact with drug container tips: a “masquerade syndrome". Ophthalmology 110:796-800, 2003.
27. Banin, E., Obolensky, A., Piontek, Y., Falk, H., Pikarsky, E., Pe'er, J., Panet, A., and Chowers, I.: Gene delivery by viral vectors in primary cultures of lacrimal gland tissues. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 44:1529-1533, 2003.
28. Chowers, I. and Banin, E.: Experimental therapeutic modalities for Retinitis Pigmentosa. Harefuah 142:277-280, 2003.
29. Chowers, I., Amer, R., and Pe'er, J.: The correlation among different immunostaining evaluation methods for the assessment of proliferative activity in uveal melanoma. Current Eye Research 25:369-372, 2003.
30. Cohen, Y., Goldenberg-Cohen, N., Parella, P., Chowers, I., Merbs, S.L., Pe'er, J., and Sidransky, D.: Lack of BRAF mutation in primary uveal melanoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 44:2876-2878, 2003.
31. Banin, E., Gross-Tsur, V., Obolensky, A., Chowers, I., and Shalev, R.S.: Retinal function abnormalities in patients treated with Vigabatrin. Archives of Ophthalmology 121:811-816, 2003.
32. Chowers, I., Gunatilaka, T.L., Farkas, R.H., Qian, J., Hackam, S.H., Duh, E., Kageyama, M., Vora, A., Campochiaro, P.A., Zack, D.J.: Identification of novel retina-enriched genes using a custom human retina cDNA microarray. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 44:3732-3741, 2003.
33. Chowers, I., Liu, D., Farkas, R.H, Gunatilaka, T.L., Hackam, S.H., Bernstein, S., Parmigiani, G., Campochiaro, P.A., Zack, D.J.: Gene expression variation in the adult human retina. Human Molecular Genetics 12:2881-2893, 2003.
34. Amer, R., Pe’er, J., Chowers, I., and Anteby, I.: Treatment options in the management of choroidal metastases. Ophthalmologica 218:372-377, 2004.
35. Chowers, I., Esumi, N., Campochiaro, P., and Zack, D.J.: Studies on retinal and retinal pigment epithelial gene expression. Novartis Foundation Symposium 255:131-145, discussion 145-146, 177 – 178, 2004.
36. Kaiserman, I., Anteby, I., Chowers, I., Blumenthal, E.Z., Kliers, I., Pe’er, J.: Post-brachytherapy initial tumour regression rate correlates with metastatic spread in posterior uveal melanoma. British Journal of Ophthalmology 88:892–895, 2004.
37. Farkas, R.H., Chowers, I., Hackam, A.S., Kageyama, M., Nickells, R.W., Otteson, D.C., Duh, E.J., Wang, C., Valenta, D.F., Gunatilaka, T.L., Pease, M.E., Quigley, H.A., Zack, D.J.: Increased expression of iron-regulating genes in monkey and human glaucoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 45:1410-7, 2004.
38. Banin, E., Chowers, I.: Experimental therapeutic modalities for retinitis pigmentosa II. Harefuah. 143:368-71, 2004.
39. Hackam AS, Qian J, Liu D, Gunatilaka T, Farkas RH, Chowers I, Kageyama M, Parmigiani G, Zack DJ. Comparative gene expression analysis of murine retina and brain. Mol Vis. 10:637-49, 2004.
40. Hackam AS, Strom R, Liu D, Qian J, Wang C, Otteson D, Gunatilaka T, Farkas RH, Chowers I, Kageyama M, Leveillard T, Sahel JA, Campochiaro PA, Parmigiani G, Zack DJ. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 45:2929-42, 2004.
41. Chowers I, Kim Y, Farkas RH, Gunatilaka TL, Hackam AS, Campochiaro PA, Finnemann SC, Zack DJ. Changes in retinal pigment epithelial gene expression induced by rod outer segment uptake. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 45:2098-106, 2004.